Like We Never Loved At All
by PacificRomance
Summary: How can you just walk by without even a single tear in your eye? Don't you have the slightest feelings left for me?


Chuck watched from his limo as the two girls walked down the street arm-in-arm. He wasn't stalking her, he just happened to be outside the theater when the show got out on the night Blair and Serena were seeing the opera.

Serena had a big smile on her face and Blair's head was thrown back in laughter at whatever the blonde had just said. Her cheeks were red from both the cold and from excitement. He hadn't seen her look that happy in a long time; definitely not since their break-up.

It had been quite a while since he had last seen her, and he had to admit that she looked great. He didn't think he had ever seen her look so beautiful; with her long, flowing hair, bright smile, and shining eyes. She looked like her life couldn't be more perfect, just like she had always wanted.

As the two girls passed across the street from his limo, he could have sworn that Blair looked right at him through his tinted window, but he knew that it was just his wistful thinking. She had said good-bye to him and his broken, blackened soul a long time ago and she was obviously moving on with her life.

But he hadn't gotten over her yet; not even close. He wasn't himself anymore, or he wasn't the person she had made him into. He was the sullen, heartless, angry boy he had been before her. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed or even produced more than a half-hearted smirk. It seemed like all he did now was drink and brood. He didn't know how she did it; how she could just act like nothing had happened between them. It was like she had forgotten everything they had been through together; all the highs and the lows; like they had never been in love at all. It seemed like she was doing her best to leave him and everything they had behind, and it seemed like she was succeeding.

….

He would see her around the city occasionally, or sometimes they would end up at the same events. But he never talked to her. She would sometimes give him a slight nod of acknowledgement, but for the most part she just avoided him.

That didn't mean that he didn't check up on her. According to Serena and Nate she was doing well, and every time he did see her, even from a distance, it did seem like she was doing just fine without him.

It drove him crazy. It killed him because he wasn't able to move past their break-up, and he couldn't figure out how she could. Their relationship had been indescribable, and to see her acting as if it never happen was something he couldn't comprehend.

Finally he got to the breaking point. They were at yet another fancy charity event and she was walking around with her head held high, laughing and drinking and enjoying herself. They had locked eyes for a moment, but she had quickly turned away to talk to someone near her.

He waited patiently for the right moment until she finally walked by and he was able to pull her into an abandoned hallway.

She instantly spun around angrily and glared at him, "Chuck, what are you doing?"

"How do you do it?" He asked with a glare, "You need to tell me how you do it."

"Do what?"

"How can you just walk on by me; how can you look me in the eye without even a hint of sadness? How can you act like nothing ever happened between us? Don't you still feel _something_ when you see me?"

Blair sighed sadly, "Chuck-"

But he cut her off. He had been holding it all in for too long, he needed to say everything that had been building up since she had ended things, "So just tell me what your secret is to letting go so quickly. Did you just forget everything we went through? Did you forget the feelings and the spark and the passion? Because you have to know you're never going to find that again. So did you just forget it so when you find someone who is second-best you won't miss it as much?"

Blair glared at him with her hands on her hips, "Did you ever think that maybe I _had_ to forget about it? That I had to forget about you? That maybe that was the only way I could deal with the pain? Did you ever stop to think that maybe I had to forget all about our relationship, that I had to put up this mask, just to make it through each day without breaking down?

Chuck turned away from her, taking a deep breath and running his fingers through his hair. Blair just stared at him, breathing heavily, finally with the tears in her eyes that he had been looking for but hadn't seen in so long. He looked at her over his shoulder as he asked softly, "Do you ever miss me?"

Blair dropped her arms to her sides and looked at him pleadingly, "Of course, Chuck. How could I not?"

He turned towards her and began to close the distance between them, "Do you miss the way I'd touch you?" He asked as he ran his hand up her arm, softly touching the smooth skin of her neck. He leaned in close until his lips brushed her ear, "Do you miss the way I'd kiss you?"

"Chuck" She groaned quietly as she gripped his jacket. Reluctantly, she pushed him away slightly so she could look in his eyes, "I could never forget you, Chuck. I'll always have feelings for you. How could you ever doubt that?"

Chuck stared at her deeply for a moment, with his hand on her face as his thumb gently caressed her cheek, "I just-, you seemed so happy. And you had every reason to hate me. I couldn't blame you for leaving me behind. I never was good enough for you."

"Chuck, you were always good enough. Yes, you hurt me. You hurt me a lot. But the only reason you could hurt me in the first place was because I had feelings for you. I love you, Chuck, and nothing you do is ever going to change that."

He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off with a finger to his lips, "That's why I had to distance myself from you; because I cared about you too much. I needed to protect myself or else I would have just taken you back and let you hurt me over and over again."

He looked at her earnestly, "I wouldn't. I won't, Blair, I promise. I've changed. I-,"

"I know." She took his hand in hers and rested her forehead against his, "You don't think I've seen how broken you've been? You don't think Serena and Nate have told me what a mess you were?"

He chuckled softly, "I guess I have been kind of a wreck."

She smiled as she replied, "So have I. I was just able to hide it better."

"So you'll give me another chance?" He asked her hopefully.

"Always, Bass. For you, always."

……

A/N: Based off the song "Like We Never Loved At All" by Tim Mcgraw and Faith Hill.


End file.
